Spray head



Oct. 24, 1950 N. c. TEARNs.

SPRAY HEAD Filed April 28, 1947 l/CI , Ned C. Sfeorns INVENTOR.

ATTOR/VEVJ Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPRAY HEADNed C. Stearns, Houston, Tex.

Application April 28, 1947, Serial No. 744,290

4 Claims. (Cl. 299-121) fabricated from a continuous wire and which mayhave a plurality of separate substantially annular spray openings.

This invention constitutes an improvement upon the invention illustratedin my patent application, Serial No. 591,204, filed April 30, 1945, nowabandoned. Spray heads manufactured according to my earlier inventionhave proven entirely satisfactory as to the character or pattern of thespray, but are relatively expensive as compared with spray heads inaccordance with this invention. Also, in the spray heads illustrated inmy earlier application, the liquid to be cooled may be sprayed in onlyone pattern.

An object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive spray head thatlends itself to ease of fabrication.

Another object is to provide a spray head having a cup-shaped helicalcoil which may be resiliently fastened to a liquid discharge pipe.

A further object is to provide a spray head unit that may be made upfrom a continuous wire.

Still another object is to provide a spray head having a cup-shapedspray member with a plurality of lateral spray openings to spray liquidtherefrom in separate concentric patterns.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the instantspecification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and whereinlike reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the variousviews:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken through a spray head and discharge pipeembodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side-.elevational view showing a modified spray headattached to a discharge pipe; and

Fig. 3 is a side-elevational view illustrating yet another spray headmodification embodying this invention.

Referring to the drawings, the discharge end of a discharge pipe in isshown having attached thereto a spray head. The spray head is made up ofa continuous wire ll. At one end of the Wire is formed a cup-shaped coill2, which isdisposed in axial alignment beneath the discharge opening ofdischarge pipe ID. The coil shown is helical and has a plug l3 disposedin the open ng at 2 the apex end of the coil, the plug substantiallyfilling this opening.

The coil is wound in such fashion that the adjacent loops in the coiltightly engage each other and thus form, for practical purposes, awatertight cup. The coil is preferably wound in such fashion that theforce of the liquid jetting into the open end of the coil will not forcethe adjacent loops of the coil apart.

In order to obtain the best results, it is preferred that the insidediameter of the cup-shaped coil be carefully regulated with respect tothe diameter of the stream of discharge fluid entering the cup. Thisprovides a means for controlling the characteristics'or pattern of thespray as is more fully set out in my earlier application, referred toabove. In the interest of simplicity, this matter will not be discussedfurther in this application.

The cup-shaped coil is secured to the discharge end of pipe ID by meansof a tightly wound coil [4 which is spaced from the cup-shaped coil byan intermediate section of the wire H. The exact number of convolutionsor loops in the coil I4 has not been found critical but inasmuch as thefriction between the coil and the end of the pipes is relied upon tohold the spray head to the discharge pipe, it is desirable to provide atleast, substantially, two full convolutions or loops. The insidediameter of these loops, when unstressed, should be somewhat less thanthe outside diameter of the smallest discharge pipe to which the sprayhead is likely to be attached. To facilitate placement and removal ofthe spray heads upon a discharge pipe, the end portion Ila of the wireis preferably extended outwardly from the coil 14, as shown in Figs. 2and 3. This extended portion of the wire along with the intermediateconnection portion provides a means for readily stressing the wire ofcoil M to enlarge the diameter of the coil whereby it may be easilinserted over the end of the discharge pipe.

7 It is contemplated that the discharge pipe may be formed with asuitable bead, rib, or other projection [5 on its external periphery, topositively secure the spray head to the discharge pipe, although thisusually is not required. In the event the end of discharge pipe I0 isexternally threaded, the loop I4 will more securely engage the dischargepipe due to the added friction therebe tween caused by the threaded orroughened periphery of the pipe. v v

V The intermediate section of the wire H, which serves as a connectorbetween the cup-shaped coil and the coil I4, is resilient and provides asuitable resilient connection between the fastening means and the spraycup. A proper resilient connection is advantageous in order to properlydistribute the spray from the cupshaped member or coil. These advantagesare more fully set forth in the earlier application, above mentioned.

It is thought that the assembly and operation of the spray heads of thisinvention are apparent from the foregoing description. The spray head isfirst formed from a continuous length of wire and plug [3 is inserted inthe apex end of the.

helical coil 12, substantially filling the opening at the end of thewire. The device i attached to a discharge pipe of a cooling tower orthe like by first spreading the coil l4 so as to increase its diameterby manipulation of the intermediate connector section of the wire II andthe extension Ha which is more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. With thediameter of coil l4 thus increased, the coil may be readily passed overthe end of the discharge pipe and the stress of the coil is such thatthe coil engages the periphery of the discharge pipe to hold the sprayhead in position thereon.

With the spray heads installed, liquid discharged from the end of pipeI!) enters the open end of the cup l2 filling the cup and spraysoutwardly in all directions from the top edge of the coil I2. Thepattern of the spray may be controlled by selecting a spray head theinner diameter of the cup of which bears a predetermined relation to thediameter of the stream of water entering the cup. Preferably, thediameter of the cup should range from 106 per cent to 180 per cent ofthe diameter of the stream entering the cup.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the cup I2 is made up of tightlywound coiled loops and provides a substantially closed cup-like member.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2, the helical cup-shaped coil l2a isformed with two intermediate adjacent loops of the coil spaced apartsomewhat to provide an annular opening along the side of the cup. Thisopening, in operation, provides an additional outlet for the liquid tobe sprayed. Liquid is sprayed outwardly from this opening in a sheetwhich is pulled downwardly by the force of gravity. sprayed from thisopening is substantially coneshaped and is within and concentric withthe pattern of sprayed liquid which passes over the upper edge of thecup-like member.

In the modification of Fig. 3, the helical cupshaped coil l2b has anopening along its side similar to the cup-shaped member l2a, shown inFig. 2, and has an additional opening between adjacent loops near theapex end of the coil. Thus, in this modification, in operation, liquidis sprayed outwardly from the top edge of the cupshaped coil as well asfrom the two side openings in the coil.

It is contemplated that various adjacent loops of the cup-shaped coilmember may be spaced somewhat apart to provide substantially annularspray openings in the wall of the cup, and the modifications of thedrawings are shown by way of example and not by way of limitation,

While the cup-shaped members have been shown as helically wound coils,this is by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and it iscontemplated that these cup-shaped members may be formed in differentconfigurations. This The pattern of fluid is contemplated by and iswithin the scope of the appended claims.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth,together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted a illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, what is claimed l. A spray headcomprising a wire having a cup-shaped helical coil formed at one endwith adjacent loops of the coil in snug contact with each other,fastening means at the other end of the wire, and a portion of the wireextending between the coil and fastening means substantially parallel tothe axis of the cup-shaped portion to provide a substantiallynon-obstructed opening at the upper loop of the coil, the portion of thewire from which the cup-shaped coil is formed being so rigid that inoperation for which it is intended, adjacent loops of the coil are notseparated due to the force of liquid played into the coil.

2. The spray head of claim 1 wherein a plug is disposed within the loopof the coil at its apex and providing an end enclosure for the coil.

3. A spray head comprising a wire having a cup-shaped helical coilformed at one end with adjacent loops of the coil in snug contact witheach other, a cylindrically shaped coil at the other end of the wiresubstantially coaxial with the helical coil and spaced therefrom, and aportion of the wire extending between the helical coil and thecylindrical coil and substantially & parallel to the common axis of thetwo coils providing a substantially non-obstructed opening between thetwo coils, the portion of the wire from which the cup-shaped coil isformed being so rigid that in operation for which it is intended,adjacent loops of the cup-shaped coil are not separated due to the forceof liquid played therein.

4. A spray head as in claim 3 wherein the end portion of the wire, atthe cylindrically-shaped coil, extends laterally outwardly to facilitatesecuring and releasing operations.

NED C. STEARNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 244,740 Brown July 26, 18811,144,719 Melas June 29, 1915 1,745,297 Harry Jan. 28, 1930 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 54,778 Denmark Mar. 23, 1938 631,950 GermanyJune 30, 1936

